Dan Osborn, the Independent Senate Candidate Who Could Tip Nebraska

Summary

Podcast Summary: The New Yorker Radio Hour

Episode: Dan Osborn, the Independent Senate Candidate Who Could Tip Nebraska

Date: May 29, 2026
Host: David Remnick
Guest: Dan Osborn, Independent Senate Candidate (Nebraska)

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Overview

This episode profiles Dan Osborn—a blue-collar union leader, mechanic, and military veteran—running as an independent for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska. Host David Remnick explores Osborn’s background, his motivations, and how he’s defying the odds in a deeply Republican state. The discussion covers Osborn’s working-class roots, his views on key political topics, and why he’s chosen to run outside the two-party system at a critical national moment when economic populism is surging and traditional party allegiances are fraying.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dan Osborn’s Background and Entry into Politics

[04:35–07:33]

• Military Service & Family Life: Osborn describes his Navy service and the decision to leave college for stable employment and insurance after starting a family.
• Union Beginnings:
  • Joined Kellogg’s as a mechanic; encouraged to join the union by a senior worker—“If Tom Selleck tells you to join the union, you join the union.” (Osborn, [05:18])
  • Rose quickly in union leadership due to retirements and dissatisfaction with losing contracts.
• Major Strike Experience:
  • Led workers through a 77-day strike at Kellogg’s.
  • Faced major contract issues: two-tier wage system, cuts to insurance, and elimination of cost-of-living increases.
• Outcome: Modest win—3% raise over five years, improved pathway for lower-tier workers, and preservation of health insurance.

2. Running for Senate as an Independent in Nebraska

[08:20–09:47]

• First Attempt & Lessons Learned:
  • Ran in 2024 against Deb Fisher, garnered 47% of the vote—impressive in a state Trump won by 20 points.
  • Built campaign on grassroots town halls (200+) and listening to constituents.
  • “I took the truth that wage-earning people deserve a seat at the table in Washington D.C....and we turned that into 47% of the vote.” (Osborn, [08:32])
• Barriers for Working-Class Candidates:
  • Cites personal sacrifices, such as remortgaging his house and quitting his job to campaign full time.
  • “This is why less than 2% of our elected officials in the House and Senate come from the working class. Because it’s hard.” (Osborn, [09:09])

3. Money, Influence, and Political Corruption

[09:47–11:16]

• Criticism of Political Financing:
  • Slams the influence of money in politics, referencing Citizens United and corporate sponsorship of politicians.
  • “Our politicians should be wearing NASCAR jackets with patches of their sponsors so we know how they're gonna vote.” (Osborn quoting Robin Williams, [09:57])
  • Refuses corporate PAC money; relies on small-dollar, grassroots donations ($48 average).

4. Why Neither Party: On Independence and Political Identity

[11:16–12:58]

• Personal Political Journey:
  • Raised conservative, remained registered as an independent since eligible.
  • “I believe in principles over party. I'm not just going to vote a letter. I want to know who that person is and what they stand for.” (Osborn, [29:50])
• Economic Populism & Taxes:
  • Wants the wealthy to pay a fair share, criticizing loopholes and stock-based fortunes.
  • “If you’re making millions by clicking a keyboard, why isn't that taxed at the same rate I'm taxed at? It's just people making money.” (Osborn, [12:24])

5. Ideological Spectrum: Where He’s Conservative, Where He’s Not

[13:04–13:56]

• Fiscally Conservative, Socially Mixed:
  • Supports strong borders, cautious on expanded ICE funding, disagrees with Trump’s tariffs.
  • On tariffs hurting Nebraska farmers: "Bankruptcy is up 46%. Farmer suicides are on the rise...2% of our population feed the rest of us." (Osborn, [13:59])

6. Views on Trump, War, and National Policy

[18:19–20:41]

• Farmer’s Regret & Econ Impact:
  • Notes shift in rural sentiment after Trump policies: rising input costs, failed exports, inadequate bailouts for farmers.
  • “[Last year] you couldn’t sell your beans. This year you get a bailout that’s falling short because the inputs are so high.” (Osborn, [19:19])
• The Iran War:
  • Firmly opposes continued escalation; insists diplomacy was possible—“I think this could have been done diplomatically...in 2018, we walked away from it.” (Osborn, [20:07])

7. Social Issues: Abortion and Broader Rights

[20:41–21:28]

• Libertarian Stance:
  • Personally opposes abortion (Irish Catholic), but supports codifying Roe at the federal level and keeping government out of private decisions.
  • “Stay out of our bedrooms, in our doctors’ offices. That's not the role that Congress should have...I support the right for women to choose.” (Osborn, [20:55])

8. Union Collapse, the Changing Economy, and Labor’s Political Attachment

[21:28–24:47]

• Kellogg’s Plant Closure:
  • Not fully convinced closure is final; links plant strategy to changes in product sales and corporate restructuring.
  • Jokes about “healthier breakfast options” overtaking cereal.
• Union Support for Democrats Slipping:
  • Republicans communicate with working people more effectively through simple slogans.
  • “You have one that was coming from the Republican side saying, hey, I'm for you. They're for themselves. I'm for the worker...The other side is seemingly talking down.” (Osborn, [23:54])

9. On Ukraine, Israel, and Young Voters’ Disillusionment

[25:13–27:54]

• Foreign Policy:
  • Supports Ukraine and Israel in principle, but is troubled by Israeli offensives and U.S.-supplied munitions harming civilians.
  • “I'm having a hard time supporting...anything that says Made in USA is dropping on schools and hospitals.” (Osborn, [25:34])
• Youth Cynicism:
  • Observes rising nihilism among young people, record numbers registering as independents, and homeownership out of reach until age 40.
  • “They are having a sense of nihilism right now...They don't see the government working for them at all.” (Osborn, [26:38])

10. Personal Reflections and 2028 Election Outlook

[27:54–31:04]

• Trump Era & Personal Votes:
  • Did not vote for Trump; preferred straightforward, down-to-earth candidates.
  • Comically impersonates Trump: “Quite frank. I don’t know, maybe pure. I’m one of those purists. You’ve never seen anybody more pure than me.” (Osborn, [28:53])
• Political Skepticism:
  • Thinks both parties’ likely candidates are uninspiring, emphasizes importance of principles over party.
• Candidacy Optimism:
  • “100%, hands down landslide. Nobody's ever won bigger in Nebraska than me. My chances are great. I'm gonna do this the old fashioned way...wage earners deserve a seat at the table in Washington D.C. because if you're not on the table, you're on the menu.” (Osborn, [30:35])

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Notable Quotes

• On campaign financing:
  “Our politicians should be wearing NASCAR jackets with patches of their sponsors so we know how they're gonna vote.” — Osborn ([09:57])
• On the hardship of running as a working-class candidate:
  “I'm getting ready to remortgage my house so I can pay my bills.” — Osborn ([09:35])
• On party independence:
  “I believe in principles over party. I'm not just going to vote a letter.” — Osborn ([29:50])
• On youth and politics:
  “They are having a sense of nihilism right now...They don't see the government working for them at all.” — Osborn ([26:38])
• On his campaign:
  “I'm gonna do this the old fashioned way...because if you're not on the table, you're on the menu.” — Osborn ([30:35])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:40–04:35 — Introduction and Osborn's early life
• 04:35–07:33 — Union career and strike leadership
• 08:20–09:47 — First Senate run, challenges for working-class candidates
• 09:47–11:16 — Political corruption and campaign finance
• 11:16–12:58 — Independent politics and tax fairness
• 13:04–13:56 — Conservative values and the impact of tariffs
• 18:19–20:41 — Changing sentiment towards Trump, impact on farmers, Iran war
• 20:41–21:28 — Abortion, personal beliefs versus policy
• 21:28–24:47 — Kellogg’s plant closure, union politics, messaging challenges
• 25:13–27:54 — Foreign policy, youth cynicism, intergenerational dialogue
• 27:54–31:04 — Reflections on Trump, personal voting, 2028 outlook, Osborn's campaign strategy

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Memorable Moments

• Osborn’s Tom Selleck anecdote about joining the union—injects humor and relatability. ([05:18])
• His candid admission about financial distress and quitting his job to campaign. ([09:35])
• The Trump impersonation—lighthearted but pointed political commentary. ([28:53])
• The “on the table or on the menu” metaphor about working-class political representation. ([30:35])

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Conclusion

Dan Osborn’s candidacy encapsulates the tension between populist disaffection and political possibility in rural America. His story is a rare look at the grit and compromise required for working-class outsiders to challenge entrenched power. The conversation with David Remnick covers Osborn’s worldview, the difficulties of being an independent, his nuanced ideological stances, and the stakes for Nebraska—and the country—when party lines no longer tell the whole story.

Transcript

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[David Remnick]

This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. When you look at the current makeup of Congress and the Senate in particular, Democrats have got a big numbers problem. For a generation or more, they've been concentrating in big urban areas, leaving more rural states trending heavily Republican. Now, we often hear that Democrats are fighting to be competitive in parts of the country where they've already been counted out. But that's easier said than done. With partisanship so high in the country, that means winning over voters who are not just skeptical, but hostile.

[Dan Osborne]

Right now it's a government for the 1% and the corporations. And I think we're fed up.

[David Remnick]

Dan Osborne of Nebraska would probably be a dream candidate for the Democrats. He's a blue collar mechanic in the food processing industry. He's a union leader, an economic populist, and a veteran of the Navy and the Army National Guard. But Osborne isn't a Democrat and he doesn't want to associate with either party. He's running as an independent, which is not an easy choice for him because it makes fundraising and generally running a campaign a great deal harder. And yet polls are showing that Dan Osborne is running neck and neck with Pete Ricketts, the Republican incumbent in a very Republican state. The Democratic nominee in the race just stepped aside to clear the field for Osborne. I sat down with Dan Osborne recently to talk about the Senate and his race and how he got into politics in the first place. Dan, some people know your story well, particularly if they're in Nebraska. But you're about to run for Senate, and I just wonder how you got into politics. You're a union guy. Love to know your working history and how you decided to make this leap.

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah. Well, if you don't mind, I would like to go back to graduating high school.

[David Remnick]

Okay.

[Dan Osborne]

Okay. Because I went into the Navy, I've always felt compelled to serve. I then met my wife. We had our first daughter. And, you know, my life changed. And I was like, man, I need a job with some insurance. Right. It's easy to take care of yourself, but as soon as you have to, start taking care. So I went into the workforce, dropped out of college and started working at Kellogg's as an industrial mechanic. One of the first days on the job, an old guy by the name of Ron Jabowski Old Polish guy. He looked like Tom Selleck from Magnum PI I'm dating myself again. These young kids probably don't know.

[David Remnick]

We'll explain. We'll have liner notes.

[Dan Osborne]

There you go. You know, we were wrenching on a machine and he looked over at me and he said, hey, kid, have you joined the union yet? I said, no, sir, I have not. He's like, well, you might want to think about doing that. And I said, well, crap, Tom Selleck's telling me to join the union. I better go do that. Nebraska's right to work, you know.

[David Remnick]

What were you making at Kellogg's at that time?

[Dan Osborne]

At that time I was making. This was in 2002, roughly, I was making $19 an hour. And then I joined the union. I just worked hard and I kept my head down for a lot of years, just going to work. Well, old guys like Ron used to take care of the union business. And we started to lose on some contracts. Those guys started to retire and so I wanted to get involved. So I ran for executive board of my local. I got elected as vice president. About three months later, the president stepped down because you get yelled at a lot in that role by both your members and management alike. But I knew the role was important, so I assumed it.

[David Remnick]

When you say you lost some contracts, what does that mean?

[Dan Osborne]

2015, we made a lot of concessions. It was a two tier wage system was the massive one that was a killer for us. So now you have somebody working right next to you making half the wages you are and a different insurance policy. So during COVID we were all working seven days a week, 12 hours a day, that whole year, no time off. In fact, at one point in time, 50% of our workforce was forced quarantine and or sick. But we kept all four of those plants running at maximum capacity. The CEO gave himself a $2 million raise. The board enriched themselves. Stock buybacks, capitalism working at its finest. Got no problem with that. Problem I had was our contract expired at the end of that year and they sat across the negotiating table from us and they said, we're going to take your health insurance, we're going to take your cost of living adjustment. Our only form of wage increases designed to keep us even with inflation. And then we're going to implement a two tier wage system that's permanent with no path for a lower tier employee to go the upper tier. And so for me as president, that was my old crap moment. And this is really where my story begins in politics. I cut my teeth in politics on the picket Line. The strike was 77 days.

[David Remnick]

It's a long strike.

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah.

[David Remnick]

That's a long time not to get paid. Did you get popular support?

[Dan Osborne]

We did, yeah. I mean, Joe Biden came out and talked about our strike. Our favorability rating or union's favorability rating around the country was some of the polling data that we saw. And sentiment was about 72% were in favor of what we were trying to do.

[David Remnick]

What kind of contract did you come to? What kind of agreement?

[Dan Osborne]

I believe it was a 3% raise over five years. It wasn't a ton. We weren't asking for a ton. And the two tier wage system, we were able to negotiate more lower tier employees to go to the upper tier yearly and we held our insurance.

[David Remnick]

Now, you ran two years ago for Senate and you came up short. What's different about the political climate now that you think will make your candidacy more of a possibility?

[Dan Osborne]

Fundamentally, the difference is my opponent, you know, in 2024, I ran against Deb Fisher. I had no name recognition. I mean, I took the truth that wage earning people deserve a seat at the table in Washington D.C. pretty simple. And I took that out. I did over 200 public town halls in Nebraska and just learned everything I know right now from people of Nebraska and their towns, from boots on the ground, and we turned that into 47% of the vote.

[David Remnick]

Right. You came up short by six points.

[Dan Osborne]

Six points.

[David Remnick]

Even though in the same state Trump won by 20, I think.

[Dan Osborne]

Yes. Yeah. So we did.

[David Remnick]

That was encouraging.

[Dan Osborne]

It was, yeah. And you know, so Fast forward to 2026 and I have to decide now, am I gonna do this again? Cause it's hard. Right. Especially for. This is why less than 2% of our elected officials in the House and Senate come from the working class. Because it's hard. I don't have a law firm that can go run itself. Why I go, you know, run around the state when.

[David Remnick]

When you say it's hard, you mean personally hard?

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah.

[David Remnick]

Tell me a little bit about that.

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah. Well, I'm getting ready to remortgage my house so I can pay my bills.

[David Remnick]

That's probably unique for Senate candidates.

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah. And last Friday I just quit my job as a pipefitter so I can campaign full time.

[David Remnick]

What does politics look like to you when you look at the Senate? The way it's composed, what its concerns are, the language it speaks. Where do you think it's failing you?

[Dan Osborne]

Robin Williams, the late comedian, he said it best. He said our politicians should be wearing NASCAR jackets with patches of their sponsors. So we know how they're gonna vote the corrupting money. Citizens United. Corporations are not people. Money's not free speech. You shouldn't be able to donate an unlimited amount of money to an independent expenditure. That's how Elon Musk pumped $300 million into the election. That is too much influence and control. And you can almost relate every single issue that we are going to talk about and people talk about to a money interest at some point, right? So if you, if you want to work in Washington, D.C. and you want to continue, especially in the House where you got to run every two years, and I was told a House member spends four hours every single day just dialing for dollars, how are you supposed to be effective and who are you going to be working for? Are you going to be working for the people that got you elected, that voted for you, or are you going to be working for the people giving you money so you can continue to work? Right. It's. It's a dichotomy that doesn't work.

[David Remnick]

But I gotta ask you, how are you gonna get money to run?

[Dan Osborne]

Well, I don't take corporate PAC money. My average donation is $48. And I've received small dollar donations from all 50 states. So my campaign is powered by the people.

[David Remnick]

Why do you want to run as an independent and not either a Democrat or Republican?

[Dan Osborne]

I've always been an Independent from the time I could register to vote. I grew up in a very conservative household. My dad actually sent me trick or treating when I was a kid dressed as George Bus. But I knew when I went off on my own into the Navy that I didn't line up with everything that he lined up with.

[David Remnick]

How would you differentiate your politics from your dad's?

[Dan Osborne]

Well, I would say that. Well, first of all, where we do line up is being fiscally conservative.

[David Remnick]

Wait a minute. Fiscal conservatives, though, they don't want even rich people paying all that much tax. Do you want to see that?

[Dan Osborne]

I want to see people pay their fair share.

[David Remnick]

What does that mean?

[Dan Osborne]

Well, and here's the thing, because you look at Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk and you look at their tax bracket and how much they pay, it's hardly anything. I'm not going to go into the statistics of what I owe this year, but I'm getting killed. That's one of the reasons I have to remortgage my house to pay my taxes.

[David Remnick]

So on that issue. But on that issue, you sound awfully a lot. Forgive me. On that issue, you sound awfully like A populist Democrat. Where do you differentiate yourself from outside of.

[Dan Osborne]

If you want to put labels on it, we can just put labels on it. But at the end of the day, for me personally, when I earn a certain wage and I get taxed a certain percentage off that certain wage, if you're on the other end of that and you're just clicking a keyboard and you're making millions of dollars on stock buybacks and dividends, why isn't that an earning as well? And why isn't that taxed at the same rate I'm taxed at? It's just people making money regardless of whether you do it with my hands or they do it with the click of a button. To me, that's as. I mean, boiled down, that's as simple as I can make it.

[David Remnick]

What are the issues that you would consider yourself conservative on? Social issues?

[Dan Osborne]

Some, I guess, but mostly it's. You know, where I would agree with Trump is I think he did a good job on the border. I think without a border, we don't have a country. The flip side of that is immigration. That's where I'm gonna break from him. And especially, you know, thinking of it fiscally, we could talk about ICE and the fact that I understand and I agree with the fundamental mission of enforcement, and that's to get the criminal elements that shouldn't be here out of the country. That's to keep the people safe. And they've done this mission off of about $7 billion. So now they have. With the big, beautiful bill, they have $80 billion. Why did they need that increase to perform the exact same mission?

[David Remnick]

How did you say that?

[Dan Osborne]

And now we're seeing them go into the streets with their masks, and now we have American citizens. That's. I can't get behind that.

[David Remnick]

How do you feel about the Trump presidency, the second term?

[Dan Osborne]

I think it's playing out in real time as damaging, especially in my state. It's an agriculture state. We are second in corn, we're fifth in soybean exports, and we're first in the nation in beef. And bad policy is bad policy. And sweeping tariffs. The cutting of USAID closes markets to our bean farmers. 52% of our exports for beans in the fifth largest bean economy in the state. That means we now have beans rotting in silos. What's that? Cause family farmers and ranchers. Bankruptcy is up 46%. Farmer suicides are on the rise. And regardless, I'm tired of people saying, oh, you voted for it, you deserve it. No, you don't. Right. They're human beings and 2% of our population feed the rest of us.

[David Remnick]

Dan Osborne, who's running as an independent for the Senate in Nebraska, will continue our conversation in a moment. This is the New Yorker Radio Hour.

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[Dan Osborne]

Treat Every day doctors use medical devices to monitor a patient's health.

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But what if the device is flawed

[David Remnick]

and gives the wrong vital sign reading because of the color of someone's skin?

[Dan Osborne]

Everyone needs to be warned, every hospital emergency department, because relying on this device is killing people.

[David Remnick]

To hear all episodes of the Race

[Dan Osborne]

Equation from the New England Journal of

[David Remnick]

Medicine, subscribe to Intention to Treat this

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[David Remnick]

This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick and I'm talking today with an independent candidate for the US Senate, Dan Osborne of Nebraska. Osborne has never held government office, but this isn't his first rodeo either. He ran for the Senate in 2024 and he lost the incumbent, Deb Fisher by seven points. In a state as solidly Republican as Nebraska, that was considered a pretty good showing. Osborne is a mechanic and he was the president of his union local, which makes quite a contrast to his opponent, the current senator Pete Ricketts, whose father founded TD Ameritrade. Meanwhile, President Trump has become deeply unpopular and anti incumbent sentiment is likely to be very high. I'll continue my conversation now with Dan Osborne. Dan, do you find a lot of people in Nebraska who voted for Trump the second time out regret that vote now?

[Dan Osborne]

Yes, that is the sentiment in the focus groups. It's like eh, this isn't exactly what, you know, we thought it was going to happen. So especially if you're a farmer. Last year you didn't have, you couldn't sell your beans. This year you get a bailout that's falling short because the inputs are so high. Fertilizer. I was talking to a row crop farmer who only farms 1900 acres. So he's kind of small. $50,000 more as his fertilizer is going to cost than it was pre war with Iran because of the natural gas is how we get our fertilizer and it's stuck there. So it's jacking up prices. Their inputs are high now, their fuel is high for their tractors and they're hurting.

[David Remnick]

How do you feel about the war in Iran?

[Dan Osborne]

I think the war in Iran, I think this is a Trump war. You know, do I think Iran should have nuclear weapons? No. Do I think the Ayatollah was a bad guy and killed, you know, a lot of his citizens that were trying to rise up? Yeah. Do I think this could have been done diplomatically? Yeah, I do. I believe that. And you know what it was, it was in 2018. Yeah.

[David Remnick]

Well, in 2018 we walked away from it.

[Dan Osborne]

We walked away from it.

[David Remnick]

Correct.

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[Dan Osborne]

And that makes no sense.

[David Remnick]

You oppose Abortion. But you've supported the Roe decision. And since Dobbs, Nebraska's passed a 12 week ban, how has that affected the state? And what would you support when it comes to reproductive rights?

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah, I think I tend to take a bit of a libertarian stance at, you know, stay out of our bedrooms, in our doctor's offices. That's not the role that Congress should have. So I would support codifying Roe at a federal level. In my own personal life, I'm an Irish Catholic. In my own personal life, I would never advocate for anybody to have an abortion, but I support the right for women to choose.

[David Remnick]

We began our conversation by talking about your union history. You led that strike at a Kellogg's plant in Omaha in 2021. That plant is going to be fully closed by the end of the year, cutting about 500 union jobs, as I understand it. How did that happen, and what does this mean for the labor movement? That after you go on strike, you win some concessions, the company just closes up shop and that's it?

[Dan Osborne]

Mm, it's. Well, first of all, I'm not 100% convinced they're gonna close this. They again tried this in 2015 in our contract. They said they were gonna close Battle Creek, Michigan if we didn't give them the two tier wage system. So we gave them the two tier wage system. They left Battle Creek open. So this could be just an employ for negotiations. But if it's not and they close that plant. Well, you have to. That goes back to Kellogg's business model. Right. They've sold that company to Kellanova, and I think Kellanova sold it again. They spun off North American cereal. So there's a lot of things at play behind the scenes. And the fact that cereal sales are down.

[David Remnick]

You know, just curious, why are cereal sales down?

[Dan Osborne]

I think. I mean, there's so many other breakfast options too, and there's healthier breakfast options, probably that people. And, you know, ever since.

[David Remnick]

Healthier than Frosted Flakes.

[Dan Osborne]

Get out Chocolate Frosted Flakes?

[David Remnick]

They make that?

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah. No, I mean, everything's fine in moderation. Right. But even.

[David Remnick]

Even chocolate Frosted Flakes.

[Dan Osborne]

Oh, yeah. All right, okay. I'll believe you could treat yourself. You'll be fine.

[David Remnick]

In the last presidential race. There were a lot of things that happened in the last presidential race, but one of them was, quite obviously the Democratic Party was losing union support in some areas. How do you assess that?

[Dan Osborne]

Well, I think it's. They were better at boiling everything down and putting it on bumper stickers. Because here's the thing about Most people. And like I said, I was this guy for a long time. I would get my news probably in small increments in my car and maybe scrolling on Facebook on my 15 minute break.

[David Remnick]

No newspaper in your life? No.

[Dan Osborne]

So if you're talking to that person and you have two competing messages, you have one that was coming from the Republican side saying, hey, I'm for you. They're for they themselves. I'm for the worker. And then the other side is seemingly talking down to people saying, you need to respect people's pronouns this and that. Who's that guy gonna listen to at the end of the day?

[David Remnick]

Did that kind of bad affect you adversely?

[Dan Osborne]

No, no, it didn't. Because, I mean, I live in a pretty urban area and I talk to, you know, I have friends and my time in the Navy, I've traveled a lot, I've seen a lot of cultures and I'm friends with tribal people and, you know, so many different walks of life. I've had experience in my life.

[David Remnick]

So that, you think made you more broad minded or empathetic?

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah, I would say, you know, we're all a product of our experiences, but if you're somebody who's never left your town and, you know, you get one, typically one message and then, and then it's echoed in your coffee shops and at the watering hole at night, then you're going to form an attitude and an opinion based off of that information.

[David Remnick]

The America first wing of the Republican Party has been, let's put it this way, skeptical about U.S. support of Ukraine, which is, and I think Trump himself has been more than skeptical. And many are turning away also from support of Israel. How do you feel about those issues?

[Dan Osborne]

Well, I think we should support our allies, you know, who would those be? Well, Israel is an ally. Right. They're the only democracy in the area. I support Israel, but what I'm seeing right now is Israel going on the offensive. And I'm having a hard time supporting that. I'm having a hard time supporting thinking that anything that says Made in USA is dropping on schools and hospitals. At the end of the day, I have empathy and compassion for all people. Now, in regards to Ukraine, I support Ukraine, you know, and a lot of that comes from when I was in second grade. I had to put my head underneath the desk and prepare for a nuclear warhead to land, you know, and, you know, grow, growing up.

[David Remnick]

Me too. I don't know if our younger listeners know this, but we had these drills in school.

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah.

[David Remnick]

As if the desk was going to protect us from a nuclear blast.

[Dan Osborne]

I know. It's so ridiculous if you think about it. And it's actually more sad today. Now they have to do active shooter drills in schools.

[David Remnick]

That's surre. That's as real as it gets.

[Dan Osborne]

Way more real than what we had to experience. And now you have this generation. I go out to a lot of colleges and I talk to the young kids. I have three of them that age myself. They are having a sense of nihilism right now. How do you mean? Well, they have no faith in government. They're registering as in Nebraska, they're registering as independents in record numbers. They don't see the government working for them at all. And they see that the statistics that the first time age for a home buyer in this country is 40 years old. So they're almost just like gambling more on stuff. Just like, screw it. Why do I need to save money?

[David Remnick]

Your kid's gonna vote for you.

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah, they better.

[David Remnick]

Are your politics informed by what you're hearing from them?

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah, a lot of it, for sure.

[David Remnick]

How so?

[Dan Osborne]

Well, I want to fight for them. Right. And you know they're going to be cut from the same cloth as me. They don't have any privilege in this world. Similar to my opponent does with his coming from a family of a billionaire. So that's the way I'm going to operate in the U.S. senate. I'm going to approach legislation and policy based off of knowing what it's like to put Christmas on a credit card.

[David Remnick]

Do you get any sense that the Trump era is ending or will it continue after Trump?

[Dan Osborne]

There's only one Trump.

[David Remnick]

Was he appealing to you in 16?

[Dan Osborne]

Did you vote for him in 2016? No, I did not vote for him. I actually I was the undecided pretty much until I walked into that booth.

[David Remnick]

And what did you do?

[Dan Osborne]

Well, I didn't vote for Trump.

[David Remnick]

You voted for the Democrat.

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah, I did on that one. Because here's a guy. I just don't think the billionaires are gonna come save us. Right. That's why I like the John Testers of the world. The guys who are salt of the earth, who just have lived their lives honestly and purely and I just didn't see him as that.

[David Remnick]

You don't see Donald Trump as pure?

[Dan Osborne]

No.

[David Remnick]

You do a pretty good Trump, by the way. This would be your moment.

[Dan Osborne]

Quite frank. I don't know, maybe Pier. I'm one of those purists. You've never seen anybody more Pier than me.

[David Remnick]

Not bad. You do that on the stump?

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah. Sometimes. It depends on the room I'm in.

[David Remnick]

How's it go over.

[Dan Osborne]

But I guess it's out in the open now.

[David Remnick]

Exactly. It's now coast to coast.

[Dan Osborne]

Coast to coast. We're here with David, maybe the worst David, I call him. Do nothing David.

[David Remnick]

Looking at 20, 28. Because this is gonna start happening. It's already happening. You're starting to see people line up. You're seeing the Vice President of the United States and the Secretary of State start to jostle in the Republican Party. You see all the obvious names in the Democratic Party. Anybody alike?

[Dan Osborne]

Oh, for president.

[David Remnick]

Yeah.

[Dan Osborne]

No. No.

[David Remnick]

You're a tough audience.

[Dan Osborne]

I am.

[David Remnick]

What do you wanna see?

[Dan Osborne]

So when they, you know, all the time when you have the undecideds, I hear you be undecided. I'm like, I just am. You know, they like don't believe me, but I'm, I'm just, I'm just skeptical. And I was raised, and I raised my kids to question everything. And this was just don't take something for at face value. And that's why, you know, another reason why I'm independent, because I believe in principles over party. I'm not just going to vote a letter. I'm going to. I want to know who that person is and what they stand for, what they talk about, how they live their life, where they come from. That all plays into it.

[David Remnick]

What are your chances in your election?

[Dan Osborne]

100%, hands down landslide. Nobody's ever won bigger in Nebraska than me. My chances are great. I'm gonna go out and do this the old fashioned way. I'm gonna continue to do. I've already done 60 town halls. I'm going to do another 200 town halls like I did in 2024. And the message is the same. It hasn't changed a bit. Us wage earners deserve a seat at the table in Washington D.C. because if you're not on the table, you're on the menu.

[David Remnick]

Appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

[Dan Osborne]

Yeah, thank you.

[David Remnick]

Dan Osborne is running for the Senate as an independent in the state of Nebraska. I'm David Remnick. This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. Thanks for listening today. Hope you enjoyed the program and we'll see you next time.

[WNYC Studios/Quince Advertiser]

The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co production of WNYC and the New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Meryl Garbus of Tune Yards, with additional music by Louis Mitchell. This episode was produced by Max Balton, Adam Howard, David Krasnow, Mike Kutchman, Jeffrey Masters, Louis Mitchell, Jared Paul and Ursula Sommer, with guidance from Emily Botine and assistance from Michael May, David Gable, Alex Barish, Victor Guan and Alejandra Deckett. The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported in part by the Cherina Endowment.

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[Dan Osborne]

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[David Remnick]

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